The small easy inventions can offer amazing opportunity. The patented beverage collar is a good example. Most of us have experienced the need for this invention. If you ever got a hot cup of coffee at drive thru and felt the cup was too hot to touch. You know what I mean. This invention is so simple you might wonder why it took so long.

The beverage collar has become an everyday item and is patented. It is amazing that something so simple can be protected by a patent. The prototype could have been made with cardboard, a Xacto knife, and some white glue. These beverage collars are used almost any place I buy coffee.

I show you this example to impress upon you that no idea is too simple to ignore. You may see a problem with a solution as simple as this one. Use your imagination and creativity. Almost every problem has a solution that no one has seen yet. Or maybe no one has moved forward on. When I invented the nozzle nut the owners of the company didn’t realize there was a problem that needed a solution. Everyone is an expert at something. You might see a need for a tool you can’t buy.

I encourage you to take some time and experiment at your workbench or kitchen table. Sketch out you plans. Write down the problem in your journal. It is more important to write down the possible solutions.

Go to protos & models to learn about the options that can turn small easy inventions into hardware. If you have a prototype a patent could be your next step.

Some ideas are never patented If the formula for Coca Cola was patented it would be common knowledge. This is what is called a trade secret and is closely guarded. Trade secret or patent? That depends on your idea. Please feel free to contact me about your small easy inventions. Keep asking yourself “What if?”